Maternity ward at Bon Secours to close next month

PORT JERVIS — The doors to Bon Secours Community Hospital's maternity ward will close on Jan. 20 to feelings of disappointment from the Port Jervis community.

James Nani

PORT JERVIS — The doors to Bon Secours Community Hospital's maternity ward will close on Jan. 20 to feelings of disappointment from the Port Jervis community.

The hospital plans to follow the list of directives set down by the state Department of Health to shutter the unit, said Bon Secours spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.

The Department of Health agreed Dec. 21 to approve the closure if the hospital paid for taxi and ambulance transportation of pregnant women and their immediate families for two years through grants to the Middletown Community Health Center on Hammond Street.

"We're looking forward to working with Middletown Community Health Center and other nonprofits in the area," said Marshall.

There are no "specific plans" for the maternity unit area said Marshall, who emphasized that the hospital and the Health Center will remain in Port Jervis. Removing obstetrics services from hospitals is a national trend, said Marshall, stemming from difficulties in recruiting obstetrics doctors into rural areas.

The closing was met with disappointment from local citizens though.

"I think it's a very sad occasion and I think children will be affected by this directly," said Valerie Maginsky, organizer of Citizens For Our Healthy Community.

The group fought the plan for over a year, arguing that the area has a large number of high-risk pregnancies, is cutoff from the rest of the county and has major transportation issues.

Despite promises from Bon Secours to secure transfer for pregnant women to Orange Regional Medical Center, work with the Health Center for outreach, educational services and publicity for outpatient maternal services, Maginsky doubted the hospital's commitment to the area.

"Look at the tea leaves here. Services are not coming, services are leaving," Maginsky said.

Port Jervis Councilman-at-large Kelly Decker, whose father was administrator to the hospital when it was Mercy Community Hospital, said he was disappointed with the hospital and the state.

Young families looking to buy a home and have children look at hospital services as a factor in, said Decker.

"They didn't actively recruit obstetrics doctors," Decker said.

Amanda Capobianco of Port Jervis had her son at Bon Secours in 2010. She said she was disappointed to see the services leave the area.

"This is outrageous and a terrible thing to do to a wonderful town," said Capobianco.